Thursday, 6 February 2014

The Future is Africa by Dr Michael Watts

In early
January Dr Michael Watts visited Zimbabwe and Zambia with a colleague from the
University of Nottingham. They were funded from a Royal Society-DFID grant to
foster science networks in Africa and to help strengthen scientific capacity.
Here Michael tells us about his trip…

Prof Martin Broadley (left) with
colleagues from Zambia andMalawi at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare

On a recent visit to Zimbabwe and Zambia with my colleague Prof
Martin Broadley from the University of Nottingham, we faced the usual clichés
of poverty, rickety infrastructure and reported political problems (in Africa
that is). On the ground, we experienced well organised accommodation,
welcoming people, good internet links, extensive construction projects and in particular
we met some innovative colleagues working in academia. Academics in that part
of the world press on with applied research, despite limitations in funds and
access to the latest technology. In particular they use tried and tested
approaches to laboratory analyses, field trials and application of empirical
knowledge to help answer some real soil and agricultural problems, especially
using regional networks.In the UK, we
could be mistaken for thinking all of Africa is dependent on aid. Much of it
is, but in Zambia and Zimbabwe, there are huge opportunities in commodities and
agriculture, as well as multimedia services driven by rapid progress in IT,
internet and mobile phones.

There are numerous opportunities for UK science to collaborate on
an equal basis with African scientists. For example, our previous efforts in
Malawi in proposing the biofortification of staple crops with essential
micronutrients to target key health issues at a population level, is becoming
accepted in the region. Many studies within academia and research institutes are
underway to explore best practice for agricultural techniques to improve the
fertility and micronutrient content of soil for food production / quality,
within the confines of available resources, such as limited lab capability. The
reason for our recent visit resulted from a network grant from the Royal
Society-DFID call for strengthening science capacity in Africa. For our part,
improving soil science capacity to build on excellent regional academic
capability through access to current technologies in lab analyses, data
representation and geostatistics. This can be facilitated via north-south and
south-south research links with consortia partners in Malawi, Zambia and
Zimbabwe.

Alongside the agricultural initiatives, there are opportunities
for BGS science to collaborate with local scientists on contaminant exposure associated
with immense mining activities. Current studies in Zambia employ exposure
techniques (microbial activity, human biomarker analyses) to inform safe
working practices and better environmental strategies for resource exploitation,
particularly in the copper belt region. Whilst the RS-DFID call will fund
African PhD students in African institutions, there are opportunities for UK
students to learn environmental science in tropical environments and to develop
their wider understanding. Two-way exchange of students and research staff will
build the future collaborative partnerships to the benefit of UK and African science
capacity.